New Anatolian, Turkey
Jan 24 2007

‘Hrant’s death united us’

Irazca Geray – The New Anatolian / Istanbul
24 January 2007

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An unprecedented throng of thousands joined yesterday’s Istanbul
memorial procession honoring the memory of weekly Agos Editor in
Chief Hrant Dink and bidding the assassinated journalist farewell.

Starting in the early hours, tens of thousands of people walked in
groups to Osmanbey from all over the city to reach the offices of
Agos, Dink’s Turkish-Armenian paper, where the ceremony started at
11 a.m. with speeches delivered in the name of the editor’s family.

The body of the assassinated journalist was laid to rest at the
Balikli Armenian Cemetery.

The funeral was held on the fifth day after the prominent journalist of
Armenian descent was slain at the entrance of his newspaper’s office in
broad daylight on Friday. A 17-year-old suspect, who has been caught,
already confessed to the killing, while the general belief is that
he is only a pawn used to silence Dink, who was outspoken about the
mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century and encouraged
reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia as well as fighting for the
freedom to express his thoughts. After ultranationalist layer Kemal
Kerincsiz filed a complaint against Dink for violating controversial
Turkish Penal Code (TCK) Article 301 on charges of insulting
"Turkishness," Dink started receiving an increasing amount of threats
both to his and his family’s life as he was seen as a target. Though
he could have left Turkey for a safer life in the West or Armenia,
he kept repeating that his roots were here and that he would not
leave his country. In his very last column, describing himself as a
dove constantly on the lookout for danger, Dink’s final words were,
"I know they don’t harm the doves in this country."

‘You left my embrace but not your country, my love’

In her speech called "Letter to the Lover," Hrant Dink’s widow Rakel
Dink said that the flood of love rushing to the newspaper has given
her and her family strength. "Today with a voice of silence, we are
seeing him off. Whether 17 or 27 years old, whoever the murdered is,
I know that they were once a baby. The environment that made a murder
out of a baby must be questioned."

Rakel Dink ended her words by saying, "What darkness can make me forget
your love? You left your loved ones, your friends, your children,
my embrace, but you did not leave your country, my love."

The long walk started following the announcement of Dink’s close friend
Aydin Engin, who coordinated the ceremony, saying, "Let’s walk in a
fashion that will show everyone what sort of a world we want."

The amazingly crowded group was made of people of all ages and walks
of life. Along with others the famous Armenian folk song "Sari Gelin,"
which is also popular in Turkey, was played from the loudspeakers
both in Armenian and in Turkish. Another song that again accompanied
the tears of many was "Firatin suyu."

‘We are all Hrant’

The group, which walked for about 8 kilometers from Sisli to Taksim and
then to Yenikapi, formed a procession behind a single banner that read,
"We are all Hrant, We are all Armenian." Individuals also carried signs
reading "Murderer 301" and "We are all Hrant." Besides the main street
between Sisli and Taksim, all side roads in Pangalti and Nisantasi were
packed with people as the main road couldn’t contain the crowd. On
the procession route, individuals leaning out of their balconies and
windows also showed support by clapping and throwing flowers.

Despite the request of Dink’s family and friends, who previously
announced that Dink wanted there to be no slogans during the ceremony,
various groups in the crowd shouted slogans like, "We’re all Hrant,
We’re all Armenian," "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism," "Murderer
301," "Murderer state will pay," "Long live the fellowship of peoples,"
"Either all of us or none, there’s no salvation alone." In an attempt
to respect Dink’s wish, many people clapped and shouted to silence
the slogans.

Reaching Agos’ office, whose door was covered in carnations, wreaths
and papers with odes to Hrant, many people again had difficulty holding
back their tears. Old women were heard chanting, "This is where they
brought our great man down."

Security and doves

There was intense security measures across town, included choppers
that circled above the procession at all times. In line with the
earlier statements of Istanbul Greater Municipality Mayor Muammer
Guler, all police leave was canceled and additional security forces
were requested from neighboring towns. Starting in the early hours,
the Yenikapi-Sarachane road as well as the transit from Sarachane to
Unkapani was closed to traffic. Unkapani Bridge was closed to traffic
in both directions. Vehicle entry to Taksim and also from Mecidiyekoy
to Sisli was banned. The route from Sisli to Yenikapi and the roads
around the Balikli Armenian Cemetery were closed to traffic in stages
as of 7:30 a.m., while the Osmanbey metro station was also closed.

By the time the procession reached Taksim Square, the main bus stop
here as well as the square were packed with police officers.

Ironically, the police were standing under a line of doves that
perched upon the electricity wires across the square.

At the Divan Hotel intersection in Elmadag, Dink’s family and the
hearse parted ways with the procession for the funeral ceremony at
the Meryem Ana Church, while the procession stopped and clapped,
waiting for Dink’s relatives to get on the buses. There were also
around 40 municipality buses arranged to take to Yenikapi the elderly
and those not able to walk further. Later the group continued its
walk towards Unkapani.

‘Death brought us together’

The funeral of Dink was the one of the largest public processions in
Turkish history, and perhaps the largest ever for a person lacking
an official title, as while the head of the crowd marching to the
cemetery reached Unkapani the end of the group was still in Taksim.

Thousands of people gathered to say farewell to Dink and reached
Yenikapi Iskele before 2 p.m.

Aydin Engin stated that they will stand to prevent others suffering
the same fate as Dink. "Hrant united us through his death," he said.

A women paying a last tribute to the journalist said, "We are Turks,
Kurds and Armenians and we want to live in peace together."

Despite earlier admonitions not to, the group chanted slogans in
front of a youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Head of state missing

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were absent from the ceremony
due to scheduling conflicts. The government was represented by Deputy
Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin and Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu.

Invited diaspora represented

For the funeral, the government invited moderate names of the Armenian
diaspora and the Yerevan government, with which it does not have
diplomatic relations with. In response Khajak Barsamian, the spiritual
leader of Armenians in America, came to Istanbul. Armenian Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian was also present at the ceremony.

Eight people from the Federation of Armenian Associations in France
also came to Turkey for the funeral.

The ceremony at the Meryem Ana Church that started at 2 p.m. and lasted
about 45 minutes was directed by Mesrob II, Armenian patriarch of
Turkey. Following the church ceremony Dink’s coffin met the procession
gathered at the Yenikapi Port Square, and the funeral was seen off
to the Balikli Armenian Cemetery.